# Headgasket opinion? **URL:** \ **Category:** Maintenance/Repairs\ **Created:** [November 24, 2023, 6:38pm UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/headgasket-opinion/193909 "2023-11-24T18:38:07Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Cavell](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/cartalk/user_avatar/community.cartalk.com/cavell/32/43396_2.png) [@Cavell](https://community.cartalk.com/u/Cavell)\ **Post date:** [November 24, 2023, 6:38pm UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/headgasket-opinion/193909/1 "2023-11-24T18:38:07Z")
06 equinox 3.4, 120k miles. Losing coolant. Oil was milky. Does chamber with reddish exh valve look a little suspect? Both headgaskets look ok. No obvious corroded areas. ![image](https://global.discourse-cdn.com/cartalk/original/3X/4/d/4db80bc2e7e218e6dd82fdd450ce32e265081a96.jpeg) ![image](https://global.discourse-cdn.com/cartalk/original/3X/1/4/144c1b980f1a3f88cfef047d48767b8a0c505841.jpeg) ---
**Author:** ![Tester](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/cartalk/user_avatar/community.cartalk.com/tester/32/15976_2.png) [@Tester](https://community.cartalk.com/u/Tester)\ **Post date:** [November 24, 2023, 6:50pm UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/headgasket-opinion/193909/2 "2023-11-24T18:50:45Z")
Looks like the carbon has been steam cleaned from that combustion chamber. Tester ---
**Author:** ![Mustangman](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/cartalk/user_avatar/community.cartalk.com/mustangman/32/44130_2.png) [@Mustangman](https://community.cartalk.com/u/Mustangman)\ **Post date:** [November 24, 2023, 7:10pm UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/headgasket-opinion/193909/3 "2023-11-24T19:10:06Z")
Yup That cylinder with the orange valve is the head gasket failure point. I’ll bet the piston top looks clean, too! Check that head carefully for warpage since you didn’t see a breach in the gasket ---
**Author:** ![asemaster](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/5f9b8f/32.png) [@asemaster](https://community.cartalk.com/u/asemaster)\ **Post date:** [November 24, 2023, 7:57pm UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/headgasket-opinion/193909/4 "2023-11-24T19:57:18Z")
How did the intake gaskets look? Possible the gasket was allowing coolant to seep along the intake runner for that cylinder? ---
**Author:** ![db4690](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/cartalk/user_avatar/community.cartalk.com/db4690/32/2583_2.png) [@db4690](https://community.cartalk.com/u/db4690)\ **Post date:** [November 24, 2023, 8:22pm UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/headgasket-opinion/193909/5 "2023-11-24T20:22:33Z")
Is this the 3.4-liter V6? Aren’t intake gasket leaks more common, compared to head gasket leaks, at least on that particular engine . . . as @asemaster may have been alluding to? ---
**Author:** ![Cavell](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/cartalk/user_avatar/community.cartalk.com/cavell/32/43396_2.png) [@Cavell](https://community.cartalk.com/u/Cavell)\ **Post date:** [November 24, 2023, 9:03pm UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/headgasket-opinion/193909/6 "2023-11-24T21:03:48Z")
The intake gaskets are metal/rubber and I think most stock gaskets are plastic/rubber. The seller I got it from said it had overheating issue from the start. He got it for a cheap work car annd only had it for a month or 2. He didn’t drive it. and the person he bought it from said it had new headgaskets at one time. No mention of when. Yes it is a 3.4 The rear head exh manifold drops down to cat and the 2 manifold bolts both sheared off. I’ve seen that before. I’m 90% sure they have not been removed recently. You have to unbolt the down pipe to pull the rear head. ---
**Author:** ![db4690](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/cartalk/user_avatar/community.cartalk.com/db4690/32/2583_2.png) [@db4690](https://community.cartalk.com/u/db4690)\ **Post date:** [November 24, 2023, 9:21pm UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/headgasket-opinion/193909/7 "2023-11-24T21:21:40Z")
I looked on rockauto, and it looks to me like the factory lower intake gaskets are still plastic/rubber, but many of the aftermarket lower intake gaskets are metal/rubber It would appear they have indeed been replaced, imo ---
**Author:** ![Cavell](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/cartalk/user_avatar/community.cartalk.com/cavell/32/43396_2.png) [@Cavell](https://community.cartalk.com/u/Cavell)\ **Post date:** [November 24, 2023, 9:40pm UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/headgasket-opinion/193909/8 "2023-11-24T21:40:26Z")
If youzoom in you can see a brownish area between the exh valve and water jacket port. ![CYL](https://global.discourse-cdn.com/cartalk/original/3X/c/0/c065816b0ebf3465e5e23829808a7910dba49da9.jpeg) ---
**Author:** ![Cavell](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/cartalk/user_avatar/community.cartalk.com/cavell/32/43396_2.png) [@Cavell](https://community.cartalk.com/u/Cavell)\ **Post date:** [November 25, 2023, 3:49pm UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/headgasket-opinion/193909/9 "2023-11-25T15:49:57Z")
I can get a used head for $40. Would be different at least. ---
**Author:** ![jtsanders](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/c2a13f/32.png) [@jtsanders](https://community.cartalk.com/u/jtsanders)\ **Post date:** [November 25, 2023, 7:18pm UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/headgasket-opinion/193909/10 "2023-11-25T19:18:50Z")
What does the head need to prep it for installation? Is it flat? How are the valves and springs? ---
**Author:** ![Cavell](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/cartalk/user_avatar/community.cartalk.com/cavell/32/43396_2.png) [@Cavell](https://community.cartalk.com/u/Cavell)\ **Post date:** [November 25, 2023, 8:04pm UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/headgasket-opinion/193909/11 "2023-11-25T20:04:13Z")
You can see crud/crap on head surface. Almost like the previous tech did not clean mating surface fully? If this is a replacement gasket I mean. ![image](https://global.discourse-cdn.com/cartalk/original/3X/d/e/de7907644eda6e884d7d8ec3d0d71d63eff382a8.jpeg) ![image](https://global.discourse-cdn.com/cartalk/original/3X/4/3/4346f428994fc426c48d5eda0b1d595e96a95617.jpeg) ---
**Author:** ![db4690](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/cartalk/user_avatar/community.cartalk.com/db4690/32/2583_2.png) [@db4690](https://community.cartalk.com/u/db4690)\ **Post date:** [November 25, 2023, 8:39pm UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/headgasket-opinion/193909/12 "2023-11-25T20:39:04Z")
That definitely looks like gasket residue in the first picture The sealing surface is now clean, but it still looks a little “pock marked” 🤔 ---
**Author:** ![Cavell](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/cartalk/user_avatar/community.cartalk.com/cavell/32/43396_2.png) [@Cavell](https://community.cartalk.com/u/Cavell)\ **Post date:** [November 25, 2023, 8:59pm UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/headgasket-opinion/193909/13 "2023-11-25T20:59:39Z")
Well, what does a new machined surface look like? The iron block also has a surface to consider also. ---
**Author:** ![George\_San\_Jose1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/e5b9ba/32.png) [@George\_San\_Jose1](https://community.cartalk.com/u/George_San_Jose1)\ **Post date:** [November 25, 2023, 10:12pm UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/headgasket-opinion/193909/14 "2023-11-25T22:12:53Z")
I wonder if there’s a product you could use to fill & smooth out those pockmarked areas on the right? ---
**Author:** ![davesmopar](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/cartalk/user_avatar/community.cartalk.com/davesmopar/32/41750_2.png) [@davesmopar](https://community.cartalk.com/u/davesmopar)\ **Post date:** [November 25, 2023, 10:45pm UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/headgasket-opinion/193909/15 "2023-11-25T22:45:15Z")
> [@George\_San\_Jose1](#): > > I wonder if there’s a product you could use to fill & smooth out those pockmarked areas on the right? It is a cylinder head resurfacing machine, a type of Mill… [![](https://global.discourse-cdn.com/cartalk/original/3X/8/b/8bb16c8bfd272df338402bbf7a9f80016b5840eb.jpeg "How To Resurface Cylinder Heads") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZqyoEvYafMM) ---
**Author:** ![George\_San\_Jose1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/e5b9ba/32.png) [@George\_San\_Jose1](https://community.cartalk.com/u/George_San_Jose1)\ **Post date:** [November 25, 2023, 10:59pm UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/headgasket-opinion/193909/16 "2023-11-25T22:59:25Z")
A resurfacing machine is the obvious choice, but it might not work if there’s a deep void b/c after grinding too much away, the compression ratio would be too high. And a diy’er wouldn’t have access to this sort of equipment. So wondering if there’s a diy’er friendly product that could be used fill and smooth out the gasket-area surfaces yet still handle the heat and pressures? ---
**Author:** ![davesmopar](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/cartalk/user_avatar/community.cartalk.com/davesmopar/32/41750_2.png) [@davesmopar](https://community.cartalk.com/u/davesmopar)\ **Post date:** [November 25, 2023, 11:08pm UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/headgasket-opinion/193909/17 "2023-11-25T23:08:01Z")
> [@George\_San\_Jose1](#): > > but it might not work if there’s a deep void The machine shop can weld it back up and then machine it back to spec… A DIYer, just like a Pro mechanic, would take the head to the Pro machine shop and have it repaired correctly… But you can use a check for flatness at home 1st… ---
**Author:** ![Cavell](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/cartalk/user_avatar/community.cartalk.com/cavell/32/43396_2.png) [@Cavell](https://community.cartalk.com/u/Cavell)\ **Post date:** [November 26, 2023, 12:07am UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/headgasket-opinion/193909/18 "2023-11-26T00:07:17Z")
Dad had a lathe in shop/garage among a ton of tools and neighbor had a Bridgeport. He was a machinist at ibm. Making fixtures and stuff. He could have milled my head. But mill and lathe are both gone. Dad still has nice shop though. ---
**Author:** ![George\_San\_Jose1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/e5b9ba/32.png) [@George\_San\_Jose1](https://community.cartalk.com/u/George_San_Jose1)\ **Post date:** [November 26, 2023, 10:56pm UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/headgasket-opinion/193909/19 "2023-11-26T22:56:50Z")
@Cavell , just curious about your car-repair diy’er history. I’ve always at least done the routine maintenance on my vehicle over the years, & some diagnostics and repair too, but I’ve never removed a cylinder head even once. You seem to be willing to remove the cylinder head without hesitation, so I presume you must have a good amount of experience. ---
**Author:** ![Cavell](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/cartalk/user_avatar/community.cartalk.com/cavell/32/43396_2.png) [@Cavell](https://community.cartalk.com/u/Cavell)\ **Post date:** [November 27, 2023, 6:25pm UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/headgasket-opinion/193909/20 "2023-11-27T18:25:01Z")
Been wrenching with dad since I was 15. Done a few kit cars and street rods. Many motors. Chrys/fords to start. Chevy too. Got a 3.0 vue 10yrs ago and stumbled into equinox 3.4 issues. Did 1 vue 3.0 head job and didn’t care for the ohc setup. I fix things. Clean them up. Sell them. [Next page](https://community.cartalk.com/t/headgasket-opinion/193909.md?page=2)